Fire alarm box door



Feb. 4,1936. p, HORNl 2,029,373

FIRE ALARM BOX DOOR Filed Oct. 18, 1950 5 Sheeis-Sheet l I nus: cuvER-PUI.I. LEVER 5 7 1 A? %z 22 I M INVENTIOR Mflw ATTORNEYS Feb. 4, 1936.l p p HORN] 2,029,373

'FIRE ALARM BOX DQOR Filed Oct. 18, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet ,2

INVENTQR I Emu/72567720 ATTORNEYS Feb.4, 1936. P. P. HORN] 3 I FIREALARM BOX DOOR 7 Filed Oct. 18, 1950 SSheets-Sheet 3 Feb. 4, 1936.. P.P. HORNI FIRE ALARM BOX DOOR Filed Oct. 18, 1950 5 Sheets-Shet 4INVENTOR jun/mm;

BY 7 2, g ATTORNEYS I Feb. 4,1936. P. P. HORNI 2,029,373

FIRE ALARM .BOX DOOR Filed Oct. 18,1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 I I INVENTOR lfinfpfirm' 'ATI'ORNEY Patented Feb. 4, 1936 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICEThis invention relates to a fire alarm box and the like, and hasparticular reference to a front for a fire alarm box having a doorthrough which the means for sounding the alarm is rendered accessible.

Certain types of fire alarm boxes used heretofore were so constructedthat the only way to sound the alarm was to open a door to obtain accessto a key or button, which, when actuated, sounded an alarm at the remotefire department central station or the like. These doors frequentlyfroze shut during the winter time and could not be opened withoutthawing off the ice or striking the door with any available object toloosen the ice, and often the door was broken or damaged to such anextent that it had to be replaced. This nuisance of attempting to openthe door frequently delayed or rendered impossible the sounding of thealarm, and constituted a serious menace to fire protection when it wasintended to serve as a means for obtaining fire protection readily.

Also, doors of fire alarm boxes used heretofore occasionally becameunlatched and remained open or partly open so that the moisture and dirtwhich'would inevitably collect in the box injured it and impaired itsefliciency.

In other former types of fire alarm boxes a glass had to be broken inorder to obtain access to the alarm lever, key or button, and as anobject for breaking the glass was not always available, delay insounding the alarm frequently resulted, which would not have taken placehad there been some other means of access to the alarm lever or thelike. In each of these two former types the excited user had to read toomany instructions at once before being able to sound the alarm, with theresult that he became confused and delayed the sounding of the alarm,which would not take place had he been instructed to do one operation ata time by appropriate successive directionsat the proper time.

These objections to the fire alarm boxes used heretofore are overcome bythe present invention, which provides alternative means for gainingaccess to the alarm lever, so that if the first means does notwork forany reason, a second means remains which does work. The preferredarrangement of this invention includes a door which is normally biasedto closed position but is readily opened only when it is intended to doso for access to the alarm lever. If this door should freeze shut or notbe readily opened for any other reason, a frangible plate in the doorpermits access therethrough to the alarm lever.

'fied form of flap illustrated in Fig. '7; and

The door is preferably weighted so that its center of gravity is soplaced as to normally bias the door to closed position, aided, ifdesirable, by a spring or latch, or both.

Furthermore, initial instructions are preferably 5 given regardingopening of the door, or if the door sticks, to break the glass.Secondary instructions regarding the manipulation of the lever are alsogiven, but in a preferred arrangement, these secondary instructions arerendered visible 10 to the user only after he has completed either oneof the first operations, 1. e., opened the door or broken the glass, sothat he is not confused by too many directions at once. This advantageis obtained either by masking the glass 15 or using opaque glass so thatthe secondary instructions adjacent the lever only become visible afterthe door has been opened or the glass broken, or in the preferredarrangement, by partially supporting a pivoted fiap against the door 20or glass or both, so that it drops downwardly when the door is opened orthe glass is broken to attract the users immediate attention to thesecondary instructions inscribed thereon.

In a modified arrangement, the door is so ar- 25 ranged that the mereopening thereof operates the alarm, and this is accomplished by aconnection between the door and the alarm button, or lever, so that thelatter is depressed or otherwise operated in the proper fashion to soundthe alarm.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 illustrates a fire alarm boxequipped 35 with the door of this invention which contains opaque,partially opaque, or masked glass;

Fig. 2 illustrates the same when the glass is broken to expose the leverand the secondary instructions; 40

Fig. 3 is a view of an opaque glass having instructions on the outsidethereof;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section through the novel door of this invention;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section through the novel 45 door of this inventionequipped with an indicator or secondary direction flap;

Figs. 6 and 7 are enlarged perspective views of two different forms ofthe indicator flap;

Fig. 8 is a section through the door of this invention, showing theposition of the indicator flap after the glass has been broken;

Fig. 9 is a vertical section through the door of this invention showingthe action of the modi- Fig. 10 is a section through the modified formof the door of this invention which is adapted to automatically operatethe alarm when it is opened.

In these drawings, numeral l0 designates a fire alarm box frame fittedwith the usual housing II, in which is contained the means for procuringthe alarm. Pivoted on horizontal hinge pin l2 adjacent the top of thehousing II] is a door IS- having rearwardly directed flanges M, whichcooperate with the rim l5on frame It to form an enclosure for the leverI5, or button, key, or the like, which is connected to the alarmsounding mechanism in any well known way, so that when lever I6 ispulled downwardly the signal or alarm is operated. The side flanges Idof the door are tapered downwardly toward the center line of the hingei2, and the upper cross bar I3 is made heavy or weighted so that thecenter of gravity lies in cross bar l3 below and tothe left of hinge pinl2 as seen in Fig. 4, whereby the door It is overbalanced to swing abouthinge .pin [2 in a counterclockwise direction against the frame H3 sothat the door is normally biased in a closed position without other aidand will not fly open in high winds or stand open.

If desired, this overbalancing action may be supplemented by a spring I8coiled about hinge pin l2 and engaging the door i2 with one end and therim l5 with the other end, as shown in Fig. 5, so as to urge the door I3into closed position. This spring I8 is not essential, as the balancingof the door I3 is such as to maintain it closed at all times, but, insome cases, the spring l8 may be desired for requiring a considerablygreater force to prevent any unintended opening thereof. A finger lug IIat the lower edge of the door l3 aids the user in lifting it for accessto lever "IS.

The front of the'door I3 is open, and normally closing this opening is asheet of glass 89 which may be clear, translucent, opaque, partlyopaque, or masked, depending upon the requirements. In Fig. 1, the glassis shown masked or partially opaque, and having an opening for exposingthe lever Hi. When the glass I9 is broken, definite secondaryinstructions appear on the back plate 22, as shown in Fig. 2. In otherarrangements, the glass may be clear so that the secondary instructionsshown in Fig. 2 are'visible at all times, or the glass may betranslucent and opaque, and the instructions may be inscribed on theouter surface thereof, as shown in Fig. 3.

It is preferred, however, that the user be informedof the differentsteps in succession, so that it will not be'necessary for him in hisexcitement to read a great many instructions, but on the contrary, readone set of instructions, act upon them, and then as a result of this actbe given further information and instructions. In accordance with thisdesirable object, a flap 20, shown in detail in Fig. 6, is pivotedacross the housing II on a pivot 2| mounted either on the door flangesI4 so as to move with the door, or upon the door frame or rim I5, so asnot to move with the door. In the first arrangement, the flap is pivotedat one side on the door and its other side 2!] lies against the rearsurface of the glass plate [9, as shown particularly in Fig. 5, and italso serves to'hold the glass l9 in place in the door 13.

Theflap 20 is shown in perspective in Fig. 6, and preferably consists ofa sheet metal plate bent to an Lshape and bearing on its front surfacethe legend Pull lever or'the 1ike, which is not visible when the 'flapis positioned as shown in Fig. 5, even if the glass I9is transparent. Ofcourse, if the glass is masked or opaque as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, theflap 2B is not visible at all. If the door I3 is opened, and thebreaking of the glass l9 has not become necessary, flap 20 remainsinactive, and the user sees the instructions for operating the lever I6011 the back plate 22 and acts accordingly. If, however, it is necessaryto break the glass 9 for any reason, the flap 26 is no longer supportedthereby, but drops downwardly about its pivot 2 l, as shown in Fig. 8and in phantom in Fig. 5, to display its legend to the user who actsaccording to the instructions thereof, by reaching through the openingin the door formerly occupied by the glass is and operating the lever Itin the manner in which he has been directed by the legend on the flap20. The

dropping ofthe flap 2E] attracts the users attention thereto much morequickly than would a stationary legend, as the eye notes a movementatonce.

In Fig. 7 is shown amodifiedform- 2B of the flap, this flap being'ma'delonger than the flap 2d, and beingpivoted at 23across the "door frame orrim l5 as shown in Fig. 9. The flap 20' is bifurcated at 24 so as toenable it to drop around the lever it either when the door l3 is openedor when the glass i9 is broken.v By dropping around the lever l 6asshown in phantom in Fig. 9, the legend is immediately brought to theusers attention, and the lever It also, so that there is no delayorconfusion as to what to do next. This bifurcatedflap 20 may be usedwith a plain door 53, or one having either transparent, translucent, ormasked or opaque glass, as in no case is its legend visible until thedoor has been opened or the glass l9 has been broken, when itimmediately flashes into view to inform the user of the next operation.

In this arrangement, as well as in that of Figure 5, the flap 20 or 24is restored to its elevated position in engagement with the rear surfaceof panel [9 when thelatter is replaced in the door l3. This isaccomplished by raising the'flap beyond its-normal elevated positionwhile the panel is being replaced and then letting it fall against therear surface of the panel in a manner readily understood.

In Fig. 10 is shown a modified arrangement wherebythe signal is givenwithout any other action on-th'e part-of the user except the opening ofthe door. In this arrangement, the door is is constructed as beforeexcept that the plate t9 neednot be glassin this case as itisnotnecessary to break it, and the door'hinge is fitted with a lever25,which moves downwardly as shown in phantom when the door is elevated.'Pivoted to the end of thislever' 25 is a push rod 26 having a button2"! at its l'ower end which engages in a socket in lever l6, whereby thealarm is normally energized. It will be seen-that the push rod 26is'curved to clear the-'rim'or door frame l5 in -the manner shown inphantom in Fig. '10. Accordingly, when the door i3 is lifted bythe'finger lug ii, the lever 2'5'there'of pushes pushrod 23downwardly"tooperate the alarm lever or button 16. The push rod 2 6 maybe made, disconnectable from lever l6 and plate l9- breakable so that ifthe door I'S'should freeze shut, the. user may break glass l9 and pulllever l6 as before, independently of the push rod connection 25.

In any of the arrangementsshown; the spring it may be-used-to force thedoor l3 to;-closed position or. it may be omitted asthe overbalanceddoor is urged to closed position. Also, in the arrangemerit shown inFig. 10, the push rod 2% connecting the door to the lever H5 issuflicient to hold the door l3 shut in normal circumstances, but as anadded precaution a clip 28, shown in Fig. 8, is pivoted on a lug 29 onthe face plate or front It] of the box and is notched so as to engagethe finger lug H, and has a hook 3| for engaging a tooth 38 on the doorI3. Accordingly, when the clip 28 is pushed downwardly to release thefinger lug E1, the pivoting movement thereof causes its hook is to pushtooth 353 outwardly to initially open the door l3. The clip 28accordingly is both a lock for holding the door shut, and an aid tostart the opening thereof, and may be used on any of the arrangementsshown, with or in substitution of the spring l8.

It will be seen that the downwardly tapering sides of the fire alarm boxdoor of this invention and the proportioning of its mass cause it to beself closing by gravity, and the tapering sides also cause the front ofthe door to slope downwardly and rearwardly so as to be shelteredagainst falling mist which freezes in the winter time and prevents thedoor from being opened readily. The inclined door is narrow at thebottom so that when the glass is broken the frame of the door does nothinder free access to the fire alarm lever, as is the case with doorsused heretofore, which had forwardly projecting flanges of considerabledepth. Also, when the glass is broken in the door to obtain access tothe fire alarm lever, the inclined position of the door 7 causes theglass to fall outwardly instead of inside of the flap, the opposite sideof the flap being supported in suspended position against the panel withthe aperture therein in registry with the handle, whereby the flapswings downwardly by' gravity over the handle about its pivot to displayits indicia when released by movement of said panel.

2. In a fire alarm box, the combination of a I frame having a handle foroperating an alarm mechanism, a flap bearing on one surface thereofvisible indicia pertaining to the operation of the handle, a pivot onthe frame near the handle for one side of the flap, and a movable panelon the frame in front of the handle normally engaging the opposite sideof said flap to maintain it in suspended position whereby said indiciaare substantially invisible from the front of the panel, said flap beingoperable to swing downwardly by gravity about its pivot to display itsindicia when released by movement of said panel.

3. In a fire alarm box the combination of a frame, a door hingedthereon, a handle on the frame behind the door for operating an alarmmechanism, a flap bearing visible indicia on one surface thereofpertaining to the operationbf the handle, a pivot on the frame near thehandle for one side of the flap, and a frangible transparent panel insaid door normally engaging the opposite side of said flap to maintainit in suspended position whereby said indicia are substantiallyinvisible through the panel, said flap being operable to swingdownwardly by gravity about its pivot to display said indicia whenreleased by breakage of the panel.

PAUL P. HORNI.

